The Casa Roble Rams will take on the Rio Linda Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Casa Roble is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Destiny Christian Academy just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 5-1 to the Lions. The Rams were red-hot at the plate heading into the game (they scored no less than ten runs in the three contests prior), but the Lions' pitchers proved too tough.
Casa Roble saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lilly Leslie, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Rio Linda was able to grind out a solid win over Sutter on Tuesday, taking the game 6-3.
Kiera Waggoner spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on nine hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Nakayla Williams, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Roxie Alvarez, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Rio Linda hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive matches.
Rio Linda is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Casa Roble, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 6-1 and their overall record down to 8-5-1.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Casa Roble hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .404. However, it's not like Rio Linda struggles in that department as they've averaged .372. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Casa Roble's way against Rio Linda in their previous matchup back in March, as Casa Roble made off with a 12-1 win. Will the Rams repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
